When I research subjects like evil, psychopathy, and sociopathy, the materials all suggest one thing:
People who work to their own gain are flawed, sick, unbalanced, prone to self destruction, etc etc.
I do not find this to be a self-evident statement.
It is true that someone who is willing to benefit themselves by the loss of others is a bane to "society." Of course the generally accepted social structure would be against such a person, as their unconstrained selfish actions deminish others.
But why is it assumed that a person who is cognizant of their selfish desires and actions and unconstrained by "morality" assumed to be so defective that they will damage themselves, become reckless, lose the ability to learn from experience or calculate risk, etc?
That might be true in many cases, but it seems to me that would be more the case where people lack self control and determination.
Is it possible to be "evil" and selfish while remaining rational and self determined?
2007-04-06
18:28:16
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7 answers
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asked by
Anonymous
in
Philosophy